Bad breath in pets

If your pet have bad breath, you need to take care of your pet's dental health.

February is National Pet Dental Month a month set aside to encourage pet owners to have their pets' teeth and mouths checked.  Dr. Penny Dye with Dakota Hills Veterinary Clinic says pet dental care is extremely important because it is part of the overall general health of your pet. Dye says, "You know, they don't brush their teeth on a daily basis.

They develop dental disease and if left unchecked it could lead to abscess teeth, broken teeth. Some of our pets, cats in particular, can get cavities actually and root resorption problems, and so it leads to chronic infections that can affect other parts of the body." 

Dye says you should brush your pet's teeth on a daily basis just like you do your own she says plaque can build up on your pet's teeth in one day just like our own teeth so taking that extra time to care for your pet's mouth can really help in the long run. 

"There are a lot of products available for home dental care. I think it's important to realize that that's just part of the supportive, part of that dental care and all of it that owners can do that they find works best for their pet helps keep that pet's mouth healthy throughout the year or in between dental cleanings and so it's all encouraged to do, but certainly shouldn't be considered a replacement for that dental cleaning once every 6 to 12 months." 

So even though February is National Pet Dental Month Dye says dental health should be a daily ritual for pet owners throughout the year. "I think a lot of people don't realize first of all that pets don't complain about their teeth. The most common sign of an abscess tooth is no sign at all. And so if we're not looking for it, we don't find it, and so their pet can suffer unnecessarily and unknowingly to the owner and their quality of life then suffers as well.